Red Hair
by Newsworthy92
Summary: ‘I just wish I’d asked you sooner. We could’ve had ages ... months ... years maybe ...’ Harry ends up going to the Yule Ball with Ginny and realises that he likes her... he just hopes Ron can accept it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Red Hair Is One Thing That I'm All About  
**__['I just wish I'd asked you sooner. We could've had ages ... months ... years maybe ...' Harry's facing the prospect of going to the Yule Ball alone when the perfect idea pops into his head. He can go with Ginny ... as long as Ron doesn't mind... Not expecting anything to come from it, Harry is surprised and unsuspecting when he falls for Ginny... hard. He wants to be with her... he just hopes Ron can accept it.  
__**  
**_A week ago, Harry would have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the Horntail.

***

Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor Tower one day, going over his options in his head. He knew he had to ask a girl to the ball. The only person he really wanted to go with was Cho, but she was already going with Cedric. He didn't really have any interest in any of the girls in his year. He shuddered at the prospect of going with giggly Lavender Brown.

He was trying to distract himself by picking up his Charms book when Ginny walked into the common room, her red hair flying out behind her. An image shot into his head of him in his dress robes, escorting a beautiful Ginny down the marble staircase and into the Great Hall. Could he really ask Ginny? She was his best friend's sister, after all. Would Ron mind if he went to the Yule Ball with Ginny? _Yes. _But he had to go with someone...

"Ginny!" he called. She looked up from the armchair where she was scribbling on parchment, probably writing a letter as classes were over for the holidays.

"Yes?" she asked, wondering what Harry wanted with her. He rarely spoke to her when Ron and Hermione weren't around.

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?" Harry asked casually. Ginny dropped her quill and her entire roll of parchment fell off her lap and onto the floor. Was Harry seriously asking her to the Yule Ball? She'd daydreamed about it of course, picturing she and Harry dancing to slow music, wrapping her arms around his neck, moving slowly towards him... But she hadn't expected any of it to come true. She could tell by his tone that he was only asking her as a friend and she didn't mind... much.

"Sure," Ginny said, trying not to act as excited as she was. But she picked up her things and went up to her dormitory, and once she was there she jumped up and down and squealed. Fortunately there was nobody else in the dormitory or they would've looked at her like she was crazy.

***

Hermione was the first to find out that Harry and Ginny were going to the Yule Ball together and when Harry told her she smirked and giggled to herself. Apparently it was "obvious" that Ginny liked him and Harry couldn't disagree there. Ginny had been acting weird around him ever since she'd met him but she'd matured a lot since arriving at Hogwarts.

Ron still didn't know as he was too busy trying to find a date of his own, and neither Harry nor Ginny wanted to be the one to tell him. Ginny thought that Ron wouldn't mind as much if he knew that they were only going as friends and Harry agreed, although he still didn't want to tell him. Not just because Ginny was Ron's sister, but because Ron was yet to find a date of his own.

It was only two days left till the ball and Ron still didn't have a date. He was sitting with Harry in the common room, who was going over the best ways to tell his best friend about his own date in his head, putting off the moment when he actually told him.

"Ron, did I tell you that I'm going to the ball with Ginny?" Harry said casually, trying to slip it into conversation although he knew it wouldn't work. Ron fell off his chair and hit his head on the corner of the table.

"What?" he cried, rubbing his head absentmindedly. Harry turned a page in his issue of _The Daily Prophet_, allowing the news to sink in. Ron's brow furrowed as he processed the information but he seemed to come to a conclusion.

"You're not... dating her, right?" he questioned. Harry shook his head.

"We're just going as friends Ron," he pointed out. Ron nodded understandably, thinking that this seemed to be in order. He didn't mind his best friend and his sister going to the ball together, but he drew the line at them snogging in the corridor.

"That's fine," Ron said vaguely, picking up the parchment he'd been scrawling names of potential dates across. Fleur Delacour, Hannah Abbott, Lavender Brown, Susan Bones. The first one was of course impossible. Hannah was a nice enough girl but really boring. Lavender was always giggling which he found really annoying. He didn't really know Susan, but didn't like the idea of going with her.

There was another person that he really wanted to go with but he wasn't even going to go there. It was just too awkward and there was no way he was going to admit to liking her. He could just go solo. It wasn't like he had to stand up and dance to open the ball like Harry. He could sit in the corner and sip Butterbeer. This image didn't look very bright; all his friends having fun while he sat by himself.

He couldn't bring himself to ask anyone though. Only when Harry suggested Parvati Patil did he think this over. He could ask her, he knew he could. He went up to his class mate and just blurted it out.

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?" he asked quickly. Parvati raised her eyebrows, but didn't laugh or snigger. This had to be a good sign. He could see her going over the idea in her head and hoped that she was thinking yes.

"Alright then," she said finally, twirling her hair around her finger. Ron took this as his cue to go and hurried back to Gryffindor Tower. Harry was sitting across from Ginny who was pretending not to watch him.

"So, what did she say?" Harry asked when he saw Ron join them. Ginny looked up from the letter she'd been writing.

"What did who say?" she asked interestedly.

"None of your business," Ron said, just as Harry blurted out "He asked Parvati to the ball." Ron glared at Harry as his sister erupted into giggles. She was laughing so hard she started coughing, earning several annoyed stares from the fifth years studying hard for their O..

"So, what did she say?" Harry asked when Ginny's laughter had died down.

"She said yes," Ron said finally, sighing. He didn't want to go with Parvati, but he knew that the girl he wanted to go with would raise her eyebrows and politely decline, or burst out laughing like Ginny just had.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, closing his Charms book. Ron shrugged his shoulders and Harry dropped the subject. He wasn't going to push Ron tonight, on Christmas Eve of all days. Meanwhile Ginny was picturing herself, inching closer to Harry beneath the mistletoe...

Ginny sat up in bed, her red hair stuck to her face. It had just been a dream, but every part of her wished it had been real. She was going out with Harry and Ron didn't mind... she was kissing Harry in the hallway before she went to class... she and Harry going to Hogsmeade and disappearing into a corner of the Three Broomsticks... she and Harry in her room at the Burrow. The longer she'd been asleep, the wilder her fantasies had gotten until one had been so intense that it had woken her up. Oh, if only it was real.

***  
Harry got up on Christmas and grinned. Tonight was the Yule Ball, but now... presents.


	2. Chapter 2

On Christmas night the castle of Hogwarts was filled with a buzzing of excitement that spread around like wildfire as the students, teachers and guests prepared for the Yule Ball. Girls did their hair and makeup before putting on dresses of every colour, boys combed their hair flat and knotted ties on dress robes and everyone was excited in anticipation of one of the greatest events Hogwarts had ever seen.

Harry was waiting at the bottom of the girl's staircase in his bottle green robes, his hair refusing to stay flat when Ginny appeared at the top of the stairs. She looked simply beautiful in a navy blue dress with frilly sleeves and every red hair brushed into place. She took Harry's arm and he led her out of the portrait hole and down the stairs to the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall was gathering the Champions and their partners near the doors. Cedric Diggory stood there cheerfully with Cho and his arm and Harry felt the urge to punch something. Viktor had a pretty girl on his arm in a blue dress that Harry didn't recognise and Fleur was with the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, Roger Davies. He was grinning like an idiot, still in disbelief that the prettiest girl in the castle was with him.

Harry however, kept sneaking looks at not Cho but Ginny. He'd never looked at her in this way before, not as his best friend's sister but as a girl. She was a beautiful girl but somehow he'd never noticed. He'd just seen her as sort of his sister and nothing more.

Ginny was looking at all the other pairings and didn't notice Harry staring at her which was fortunate. He wasn't really falling for his best friend's sister, was he? Nah, he couldn't be. It was alright for him to think she looked pretty; it didn't mean he liked her. She just looked nice, that was all.

Professor McGonagall showed up to distract him but when he found out her reason he rather wished she hadn't appeared. She led them off to the side while she allowed the other students entry into the Hall and the doors slammed close. She lined up the Champions and the doors were thrown open again so they could enter.

The Great Hall had been transformed into an ice palace. Every inch possible was coated in icicles that glistened and shimmered under the lights. It looked magical and Harry couldn't stop himself staring as he walked with Ginny into the Hall. As he positioned himself on the edge of the dance floor he finally recognised the girl with Krum. It was Hermione.

"Hello Harry, Ginny," she babbled, radiating beauty. She looked so excited and Harry was glad for her. She rarely got the chance to let loose like this. One face he didn't want to find was Ron's. But unfortunately it was visible from his spot and his expression was livid. He'd clearly spotted Hermione and wasn't happy.

The music began and luckily Ginny knew what she was doing and was able to steer him around the floor so he didn't look like an idiot. He was not a good dancer which showed when he just managed to move his foot in time before he stepped on Ginny and how shaky his hand was as he spun her around. He could make a quick escape once the floor filled with couples and sat down next to Ron and Parvati at an icicle-covered table.

Ron was muttering away about Quidditch players and enemies but Harry wasn't really listening. Inside his head a war was going on, one side vying for Team Ginny and the other for Team Ron.

I'm allowed to like her.  
_She's your best friend's sister!  
_So?  
_So, she's off limits!  
_What if I don't care?  
_Do you really want to lose your best friend?  
_He could learn to accept it.  
_As if.  
_He could.  
_If you say so.  
_I think I like Ginny.  
_She's your best friend's sister!  
_I don't care!  
_He will.  
_What if I don't care?  
_Good luck with that._

Harry couldn't find a reason why he shouldn't be allowed to like Ginny, but he could find many reasons why Ron would hate him once he found out. He doubted Ron could get over his sister and his best friend getting together. But would Ginny return these feelings? _Yes. _He was pretty sure he was spot on with this. Ginny liked him. He knew she liked him.

"Ginny, could I talk to you for a second?" he asked. Ginny nodded, standing up and following him out of the hall. They walked out the front doors and a little way across the grass before stopping.

"I like you," Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. Ginny's mouth dropped open. Her face turned red as her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. Harry's words had had a strange effect on her. She'd been dreaming about this moment for so long so it was surreal for it to be actually coming true.

"I like you too," she confessed, although she knew he probably knew this already. She was sort of obvious with her feelings, not that she could help it. But this was a dream come true, literally.

Before she could stop herself, she threw herself at Harry and kissed him. It wasn't anything like she'd imagined, it was blissful, as if she was floating on a cloud and she never wanted to leave. Everything would be perfect if she never left but eventually she had to come floating down...

"Wow," Harry said as he broke apart from Ginny, struggling to catch his breath. Ginny's face was lit up with joy, happiness and bliss at finally landing her dream guy. It sounded hokey but it was true. Harry was her dream guy and he was actually hers!

Harry and Ginny walked back into the Hall in a daze, both still reeling from what had just happened. Had they really just kissed? Ginny had never kissed anyone quite like Harry before. His lips were magical and she wanted to grab him and kiss him again and again but she couldn't. She had to control herself.

Instead she dragged Harry onto the dance floor to boogie down. The kids at Hogwarts had the same idea and as the Weird Sisters came onto the stage they lapped up the energy. They played song after song while the students jumped up and down to the pulsating beat. Ginny's hair stuck to her face by the time she walked off the floor with Harry.

Instead of walking up the marble staircase Harry led Ginny down a different path until they ended up in a deserted corridor. There he pulled Ginny towards him and kissed her and it was even better than before. She felt like she was going to float away and Harry was the only thing holding her down. When she walked into Gryffindor Tower ten minutes later she felt like she was going to fall over any second.

Harry waved and disappeared up the boy's staircase as Ginny collapsed on an armchair. She was still trying to catch up with herself. Harry's kiss had left her breathless and she was struggling to keep pace with her mind. Her heart was thudding anxiously in her chest. She took deep breaths to calm down but when she was back in her dormitory she was still reeling. Harry was hers. He was really hers.

***

As Ginny dressed in her robes the next morning her hands were shaking. Her mind was on rewind, flashing back to the night before. Confessing her feelings to Harry, dancing till she felt like her legs would drop off and sneaking a kiss in the abandoned corridor. She practically skipped down to breakfast where she was careful to casually sit down next to Harry and join his conversation on the Yule Ball the night before. Ron didn't seem suspicious but Hermione watched them curiously. But she wouldn't find out.


End file.
